Singareni production hits all-time high

Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) achieved a record coal production of 44.54 million tonne in 2008-09, seven per cent more than the set target of 41.5 million tonne. This is the seventh consecutive year that the production targets have been surpassed after its turnaround since 2002-03, said SCCL chairman and managing director S Narsing Rao.

The company has set a target of 50.4 million tonne for the year 2009-10, including 15.36 million tonne from underground mines and 35.04 million tonne from open cast production. Four new open cast projects and one underground mine would be opened during 2009-10.

The chairman attributed the increase in production to the efforts of the workforce. The production during 2008-09 witnessed the highest growth rate of 9.7 per cent on a year-on-year basis in the last 15 years. Two mines — Dorli OC 1 in Adilabad and Koyagudem OC-2 in Khammam districts — started production during the last fiscal.

The company dispatched 44.4 million tonne coal, also an all-time record. Of this around 72 per cent coal was dispatched to the power sector, including 32.02 million tonne to power utilities and 2.37 million tonne to captive power units.

SCCL supplied 12.15 million tonne coal to state-owned power generating company APGenco, as against the 10.08 million tonne as per the fuel supply agreement during 2008-09. None of the power stations linked to the company was critical ie, left with coal for less than seven days, he said.